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About the Alzheimer’s Association

As the world’s leading voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research, the Alzheimer’s Association strives to improve quality of life for those facing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. We fund critical research; provide education and resources; raise awareness; and advocate in partnership with government, private and nonprofit organizations for a solution to the global Alzheimer’s epidemic.

The mission of the Alzheimer’s Association is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care for all those affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.

Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's disease.

We Provide Education and Resources to Those Facing Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Alz.org
Our website provides an in-depth explanation of how Alzheimer’s and other dementias affect the brain, symptoms and risk factors, up-to-date overviews of treatments, and resources to help both caregivers and people with dementia. Information is available in 15 languages.

I Have Alzheimer’s Website
If you have been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease, you likely have many questions; this website provides tips from others who are currently living with Alzheimer’s, information on how to live well with the disease and resources for planning for the future.

Brain Tour
Translated into 15 languages, this interactive tool provides a visual understanding of how a healthy brain works as well how Alzheimer's changes the brain. Alzheimer’s symptoms, such as behavioral and cognitive changes, are caused by damage to the brain.

Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregiver Center
The care needed by someone with Alzheimer’s and other progressive dementias changes over time. Our Caregiver Center provides insight on what to expect and how to adapt care during the early, middle and late stages of Alzheimer's disease. Resources include articles on how to deal with behavioral changes and daily care, free online courses and blogs from others who are caring for someone with dementia.

Alzheimer's Association Online Research Center
Our online portal provides up-to-date information on Alzheimer's and dementia research. A wide breadth of information is available, including what researchers currently know about brain health, videos about Alzheimer's and genetics, the future of diagnostic tests, and an overview of potential Alzheimer's treatments under investigation.

Research Highlight

Currently, Alzheimer’s is diagnosed mostly on the basis of neurological exams, but these exams cannot detect the disease until brain damage is extensive. A brain imaging method that can detect Alzheimer’s in its earliest stages provides the best opportunity to limit brain damage. To help further research to this end, the Alzheimer’s Association awarded a three-year grant to Abedelnasser Abulrob, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of Ottawa. These researchers who are investigating advanced ways to identify beta-amyloid in the brain, with the hope of detecting Alzheimer’s at its earliest stages.

We Move Alzheimer’s and Dementia Research Forward

As the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer's research, the Alzheimer’s Association is dedicated to finding more effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure while deepening our knowledge of brain health and prevention.

The Alzheimer’s Association has awarded more than $350 million to Alzheimer's research; more than 2,300 scientists around the world have received funding through our International Research Grant Program.

The Alzheimer's Association is a sponsor of the World Wide Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (WW-ADNI), which works collaboratively to share research across the international research community and establish standards for diagnosis. Information from brain imaging scans is collected from each WW-ADNI site.

As the host of the annual Alzheimer's Association International Conference® (AAIC®), we bring together global leaders in dementia research to share ideas and findings. This event unites thousands of researchers from more than 65 countries, and is held at different locations throughout the world.

We Take Action

The Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada participated in the first-ever G8 Dementia Summit, where world leaders acknowledged that the Alzheimer’s and dementia crisis cannot be ignored. Learn more.

Alzheimer's is too big of a problem to be solved by any one organization or government. We work to raise awareness of Alzheimer's as a global epidemic and collaborate with international partners, including nonprofit organizations, governments and private industry leaders.

We raise funds to continue our investment in Alzheimer's research, care and support. Our international fundraiser, Alzheimer's Association The Longest Day,® brings together teams from around the globe to honor those facing Alzheimer's while raising money for the cause. Learn how to participate.

We advocate for the rights and needs of people with Alzheimer's; we do this in the United States by informing elected officials of both the economic and emotional cost of Alzheimer's disease, and by voicing the need for funding from the U.S. government to advance Alzheimer's research.

The History of the Alzheimer's Association

The annual global cost of Alzheimer's disease
is more than C$731 billion and continues to rise.

The Alzheimer's Association was formed in 1980 by Jerome Stone and representatives from several families who believed a nonprofit organization was needed to help those facing Alzheimer's disease.

More than three decades later, the Alzheimer’s Association reaches millions of people affected by Alzheimer’s across the globe. As the world's leading health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, the Alzheimer's Association is at the forefront of advancing Alzheimer's research, and improving programs and care for all those affected by the disease.
In addition to co-founding the U.S.-based Alzheimer's Association, Mr. Stone served as an honorary vice president of Alzheimer's Disease International.